Run – Don’t Walk!

We spent a wonderful 3 nights at the beach last weekend. I was born in Sarasota and grew up enjoying the beach, so I figure my roots are sea oats. That makes days at the beach especially idyllic. I went to the website for the Dunes of Panama to pull a few photos (remember I’m photographically challenged) and I saw a last minute vacation special that made my heart leap. This place was great and I am sorely tempted to head straight there again. $99 a night for beachfront with a gorgeous balcony? Are you kidding? (Only through June 5- fly, drive or run, but hurry!)

My schedule at the beach looked like this:
7 ish Walk on the Beach
8 ish Relax on the balcony & watch the beach come to life
10 ish Lounge at the pool
1 ish Eat lunch- either poolside or on the balcony
2 ish Sit on the beach under the umbrella.
4 ish Back to the pool.
6 ish Dinner somewhere casual and fun
8 ish Browse at Pier Park

People-watching is so interesting. Here’s bits of a conversation I overheard at the pool:
Blonde lady: “I am concerned about getting sunburned. I got a little red yesterday.”
Fit Friend: “You can NOT get sunburned if you have on sunscreen. No worries.
Blonde lady: “I don’t think we should swim in the gulf today. There’s a red flag.”
Fit Friend: “That ridiculous. As long as you can touch, you can’t drown. Only stupid people drown. They go out too far and that’s how they get into trouble.”
Editor’s Note: You absolutely CAN get sunburned with sunscreen on. She is ignorant. Furthermore, this area is known for rip tides. There were more than 45 water rescues on Sat. and 2 people drowned. The woman at the pool was clearly not a good source for advice.

One last recommendation: Pier Park opened in March on the west end of Panama City Beach. It is absolutely delightful. A well planned area with stores, food and entertainment. Let me know if you head to the condo and I’ll come down and give you a personal tour of the area. No charge. : )

Smarties

I just had to post this photo of some of the graduates at our celebration. They are all so awesome... so full of hope and promise and fun (and silliness too).

Celebrate!

We had a delightful party for Cupcake preceding graduation on Friday. I just returned from a few wonderful days at the beach (another post) so I’m late with my comments. Here are some observations from the party:

• It is good to have company. It forces me to clean things that I have overlooked and the results are gratifying.
  


• Uncommon Blonde is the queen of party planning. From the marvelous cake made by
  SoFabulous Sweets, the beautiful decorations, the silly glasses for photos (posting that photo later!), the Smarties sprinkled throughout… she put a lot of thought into details and the result was amazing. Furthermore, she makes it look easy and it is oh so much fun!
  
  
• Having Olive Garden do the cooking was a great choice. Everyone loved it and it was reasonable in cost and simple, simple, simple.



• Serving Banana Pudding is always a good idea in the south. Many asked for my recipe, which is easy-peasy and makes enough to feed a small army.

We made some marvelous memories with liberal portions of love and laughter. Cupcake's salutatory address was on “defining moments”. We have all had more than a few of those in the last week. I am grateful.

Up & Down & All Around

Observation: Strong emotions wear me out. I feel like I am on a major emotional roller coaster ride this week. It’s my baby’s graduation. I just returned home from the senior recognition ceremony. I had high energy for the last day in anticipation and now that it’s over, I’m exhausted. I’ve laughed and I’ve cried and now I think I’ll sleep. Oh - that comes after Friday’s official ceremony. We are going to take off and stay on the beach for a few days to celebrate rest and I am psyched about that.

Our church honored seniors on Sunday and the sermon really spoke to me. Pastor spoke on “New Beginnings” and their significance. I see this as a major new beginning for me… come August, it will be the first time in 27 years I am not directly responsible for the welfare of a child. Now that is something to ponder.

I'm a Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

I just can't seem to resist quizzes. I'm not sure why that is. Linda, over at 2nd Cup of Coffee, posted this one a couple of months ago. The only thing that drives me crazy about the blogthing quizzes is they don't have a link to learn about all the other types. The quiz results say I get along great with a question mark. So why can't I find out the scoop on question marks??????

I have been waiting to post this quiz until I figured out where blogthings stores "the rest of the story." It appears they are headliners, not fine print types. So have fun with the quiz. And let me know what you are... especially if you are a question mark.

P.S. Okay - I have to be totally honest. I liked this quiz because I liked my results.
Here's what it said about a comma, moi:

• You are open minded and extremely optimistic.
• You enjoy almost all facets of life.
• You can find the good in almost anything.
• You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests.
• You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time.
• Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to.
  (But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them)
• You excel in: Inspiring people

Faith, Hope and Love

I read an email today from a person who cites Ben Franklin as one of his heroes. As I read the quotes attributed to Ben, it reminded me of my Dad. I heard these words many times from him.

“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."
"Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste."
"Well done is better than well said."

My Dad was on the quiet side, so when he had something to say, people listened. He moved to heaven a full 17 years ago. Hard to believe that much time has passed because he has not faded one bit in my memory. I am so fortunate that I can say my Dad was one of my heroes.

My Dad left me with many gifts. He taught me music as a first language. That has enriched my life in immeasurable ways. But the greatest gift he gave me was unconditional love. The value of that gift is really indescribable. How is that even human? Ah - I guess it’s not. Through his relationship with our heavenly Father, my Dad showered our family with that which he had received from the heart of God. Dad did get angry with me, and he disciplined me, but I never ever doubted his love for me. As a teenager, when I knew it all for a few brief years, he would listen to me. Really listen. He wouldn’t interrupt to tell me where I was missing it. He would ask questions that would make me think. I am thankful that my Dad gave me the security of being well loved. I am eternally grateful that he showed me the way into a relationship with my heavenly Father through his actions and a life well lived.

I want to be like my Dad. I want my life to be a love letter written to all men.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
I Cor. 13:13

Fast and Stop

I have been described as having 2 gears - fast and stop. This week I have alternated between feeling like my head is going to explode because there's too much in it and falling asleep at my desk and planting my face in the keyboard. So I suppose there's some truth to the 2 gear analysis. I have no energy to write anything brilliant, but comic relief is always a good thing so here you go:

I didn't draw the pie - but I note that alas, it does not have exercise in it. We'd better get with it people! Will you do mine for me? Just this week?

Greased Lightning!

I’m tired this morning and all I had to do was watch cupcake yesterday in two performances of Grease! I didn’t sing, dance or memorize a trillion lines and have to deliver them flawlessly in front of 1000 people and I’m tired! I KNOW my Sandy Dumbrokski is dragging, but her schedule dictated that she rise and perform some more – this time for a final in a dual enrollment class.

I was overwhelmingly impressed with this group of teenagers. I was also blown away by the teacher that started the drama program from scratch last year (it’s a new school) and was able to pull off such an amazing production involving 78 students. In addition to being a world class teacher, Margo Deal Anderson is a performer herself. I know we have all had teachers that shaped us and made a lifelong impression for good, and Margo has done that for thousands of young people. Isn’t it wonderful to be around people that are full of passion, energy, hope and excitement? Just thinking about it gives me some much needed energy.